National Authority for Remote Sensing supports the use of smart agriculture to improve the quality of agricultural crops

- Smart agriculture contributes to increased productivity and reduces water use, fertilizers and pesticides
- The success of the experience of smart agriculture in many countries of the world
- Participation of the Remote Sensing Authority in rehabilitation efforts for approximately 4 million acres
The Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Dr. Ayman Ashour, stressed the importance of continuing to direct scientific research and studies towards smart agriculture in view of its connection with increasing agricultural productivity and reducing production costs, noting the political leadership ' s interest in this important issue, which will contribute to Egypt ' s food security.
The Minister referred to the decision of the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt to approve the sub-agreement between the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Government of Canada on the implementation of the project to promote climate smart agriculture and agrobiodiversity; and to enhance the resilience of rural communities most affected by climate changes in the old and new Nile and Egypt at $10 million.
For his part, Dr. Islam Abu Al-Magd, Chairman of the National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences, stressed the importance of smart farming, which contributes to increasing agricultural production and reducing production costs and seeks to make use of modern technologies to improve the quality of agricultural crops, thereby contributing to self-sufficiency in crops and supporting State efforts in land rehabilitation.
Dr. Islam Abu Al-Magd explained that smart farming is a system that relies on advanced technology to grow food in sustainable and clean ways and to rationalize the use of natural resources, particularly water. One of its most notable features is its reliance on information management and analysis systems to make the best possible production decisions, at the lowest costs, as well as the automation of agricultural processes such as irrigation, pest control, soil control and crop control, pointing out that smart farms have a real potential to provide more productive and sustainable agricultural production based on a more efficient approach to resource use.
For his part, Dr. Abdelaziz Bilal, Head of the Division of Agricultural Applications, Soils and Marine Sciences of the National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences, noted that smart agriculture means remote control of additions or inputs to agricultural production; to achieve sustainable development goals, through food security to increase production in the unit of area, noting that the State undertakes horizontal and vertical agricultural expansion, emphasizing that smart agriculture contributes to increased production, reduces costs and reduces waste in the use of water and fertilizers.
Smart agriculture needed space because it used an electronic technical system and the use of the Internet of objects and artificial intelligence techniques to define "system" with all the needs of the land in which the smart farming system would be applied, which in turn would reduce water use, reduce fertilizer and pesticides and improve the quality of agricultural crops, rather than following traditional farming methods.
Dr. Abdelaziz Bilal reviewed the role of the National Remote Sensing Authority in smart farming. The Authority is collaborating with the Ministry of Agriculture on the horizontal land reclamation project. This contributed to the rehabilitation of some 4 million acres in cooperation with the General Authority for Reconstruction Projects of the Ministry of Agriculture. Through the use of remote sensing techniques, the Authority has implemented several important projects. The most important of them are the implementation of a project in which remote sensing is used to track wheat crops and to determine suitable irrigation dates and the extent to which a portion of the crop is infected with pests. In addition, a project was carried out in cooperation with the Electronics Research Institute to produce a smart irrigation system that can be used in several agricultural crops, as well as the development of a system to reduce the use of water in rice cultivation funded by the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology.
Dr. Abdelaziz Bilal emphasized that modern technology was working to achieve food security and helping to reduce cost, noting that the initial cost that some might see as relatively high would be offset by later lower production costs, as well as by improving the quality of agricultural crops, which could be self-sufficient in crops, noting that the successful application of smart agriculture in many different countries of the world had contributed to increased agricultural productivity.

Dr. Islam Abu Al-Magd, Chairman of the National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences, emphasized the significance of smart farming in increasing agricultural production and reducing costs. He highlighted the system's reliance on advanced technology, information management, and automation of agricultural processes, such as irrigation, pest control, and crop control, which can lead to more productive and sustainable agricultural production.